We usually talk about how the rule changes and emphasis towards passing has turned the league into a QB-driven league, and that now more than ever, you need a great QB if you want a realistic chance of winning a Super Bowl, lest you want to just hope you go on a Cinderella-story run. But contrary to the good ole conventional wisdom, the NFL has actually always been a passing league.
If you look by decade, most of the Super Bowl winning teams had an elite, HOF QB.
Look at most teams:
60s
Packers – Bart Starr (HOF)
Jets – Joe Namath (HOF)
Chiefs – Len Dawson (HOF)
70s
Colts – Johnny Unitas (HOF)
This isn’t even including the Colts’ success with Johnny Unitas back in the 60s before the Super Bowl era.
Steelers – Terry Bradshaw (HOF)
Cowboys – Roger Staubach (HOF)
80s
49ers – Joe Montana (HOF)
90s
Cowboys – Troy Aikman (HOF)
(And in the 90s, you still had the Packers with Brett Favre (HOF), the 49ers with Steve Young, and the Rams won with Kurt Warner. Also, the Bills made 4 straight Super Bowls with Jim Kelly (HOF).
Broncos – John Elway (HOF)
2000s
Patriots – Tom Brady (GOAT)
Colts – Peyton Manning (HOF)
Steelers – Ben Roethlisberger (HOF)
Saints – Drew Brees (HOF)
2010s
Patriots – Brady (GOAT)
Seahawks – Wilson (HOF)
Broncos – Peyton Manning (HOF)
Chiefs – Patrick Mahomes (HOF, Chance at GOAT status)
So as you can see, most decades were dominated by teams that had HOF QBs. They literally make up most of the Super Bowl Champions.
Many of these teams that have led dynasties have usually had a great QB. Even the ones that some people nowadays like to say are “overrated”, like Bradshaw and Aikman, have put together a lot of excellent postseason performances that justify their esteem.
The decade with the most non-elite QB rings is the 80s. Montana won 4, and the other 6 champions were won by good QBs like Phil Simms, Jim Plunkett, Doug Williams, Joe Theisman, and Jim McMahon. Although, this could be attributed to there being 2 strike-seasons (although in 87, teams still did play most of the season with regular rosters), and the fact that, for whatever reason, the NFC was just the better conference; John Elway didn’t have much offensive support (and he did not perform well individually in those Super Bowls), and the Bills had not yet instituted their K-Gun offense that allowed them to become a juggernaut.
There’s usually always teams that have won without an elite QB. A lot of times, they had generational defenses (85 Bears, 2000 Ravens, 2002 Buccaneers, 2015 Broncos), but every once in a while, a well-rounded team with an aggressive QB can get hot and go on a run (2012 Ravens, both of Eli’s Giants, the 2017 Eagles, etc.).
But overall, it seems that in general, having an elite QB has always been pretty damn important in the NFL; it’s not new. (In fact, the 90s was brutal without how little non-elite QBs even won.)
